The Ultimate Harry Potter Party: Make it Magical, Muggle

No one outgrows the legendary Harry Potter. Sweep your guests (and you!) off their feet and immerse them once again in the world of creatures, spells, potions, and mystery!

Wands, wizards, Hedwig, Hogwarts -- who doesn't love the enchanting story of the infamous Boy Who Lived? Any Potterhead needs to have a party themed after his or her favorite hero, Harry. Make it a day to remember with treats, activities, and cool tricks! Here are some creative tips and ideas to ensure that your bash is a blast!

Spellbinding Snacks

Satisfy hungry guests with crafty food!

Honeydukes candies can be ordered online. Check out the link:

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AHoneydukes

Dip pretzel rods in chocolate, and call them "Wizard Wands." Dip cake pops into yellow frosting, make wings out of fondant, and stick them on the cake pop. Deem these delicacies "Golden Snitches." Keep a variety of drinks in pitchers, and label them different things. Water could be "Truth Serum," and soda could be "Felix Felicius." If alcohol is served, that could be "Polyjuice Potion." Of course, butterbeer is a must! You can find plenty of recipes online.

Love Potion

Dazzling Decorations

Make your party place look "just like magic!" ;)

Give your friends a great first impression by decorating the door. Get them in a Potter mood from the start by attaching a Platform 9 3/4 sign. Go all out with anything related to the series that you can find. Display cardboard cutouts and any memorabilia showing house pride. Go Hufflepuff! If you can, hang up the house banners, which can be found on many websites, including some online Halloween stores. Another item that can be found online is the iconic brick wall that students at Hogwarts must go through to access the train. This can particularly be a good backdrop, since it could be used for many places or elements of the party. It can be found here:

Got any spare brooms? Cauldrons? Flaunt them! You could also buy some plastic or glass vials and fill them with colored liquid (even water with food coloring will do!) to look like you're in a potions lab.

Hogwarts

Wizard-Worthy Activities

Go back to Hogwarts with this cool games and things to do!

Here are some things you could do:

1) How about some potion-making? Get some "ingredients" and have at it! You can choose what you want to set out for guests to mix around and play with, and you could even give them magical names, like "Gillyweed" or "Basilisk Eyes."

2) Almost everyone has a pool or lake nearby. If there's water nearby, why not jump into the "Black Lake" and play a game? (Intended mainly for kids) Separate into two groups -- Champions and Mermaids. It's played a little like Sharks and Minnows. Champions try to get from one side to another, and it's the Mermaids' job to stop them. If a Mermaid "drowns" a Champion, he or she becomes a Mermaid.

3) Have a Bertie Bott's taste test challenge! Blindfold a person, and feed him or her a bean. If the answer is correct, the guesser advances. If not, disqualification is the price. The last person remaining is the winner.

4) What's a Harry Potter party without a classic game of Quiddich? Learn the instructions, gather equipment, and let the match begin!